Sunday, March 06, 2011

x 6

Just went to a lecture about Egyptian Astronomy and one of the ideas that my flimsy memory has retained is that ancient cultures (and astrology) used the base number 6 instead of 10, at least for astro type uses. This is showed in astrology and in the modern method of telling time by the 12 months of the year and the 24 hours in a day. Picked up a book from the library shelf with intriguing title Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe by Martin Rees. Sort of wonder if there would be any relationship between how the ancients perceived the sky and what this book says. I know, I know, modern publishing has learned that people will buy anything that offers a list of a set number of ideas. 10 greatest hits. 7 best ideas. 6 numbers that hold the universe together. Now that I think about it, there will be no relationship between the two. Still interesting. I took some notes.

From Page 2:

"This book describes six numbers that now seem especially significant. Two of them relate to the basic forces; two fix the size and overall 'texture' of our universe and the determine whether it will continue for ever; and two more fix the properties of space itself."

ehm, sounds like Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable Energies to me.

Can't quote the 6 numbers verbatim so I will just try to paraphrase. I can't write the Greek numbers/letters in proper type.

More from Page 2:

1. The vastness of the universe is because of "N". This is a huge number 1 with 12 sets of 3 zeros. If the number were smaller nothing on earth could grow very large. The number measures the "strength of the electrical forces that hold atoms together, divided by the force of gravity between them"

2. Greek Letter "E", value is .007. No kidding, it's the James Bond number. "It's value controls the power from the Sun and, more sensitively, how stars transmute hydrogen into all the atoms of the periodic table."

3. Letter "Omega" measures something having to do with gravity and expansion energy in the universe.

4. Letter "Lambda" describes a cosmic "antigravity" that controls the expansion of the universe. Big scientific news of 1998. Uranus and Neptune had just moved into Aquarius. Antigravity does sound like Uranus telling Saturn where to stick it. Page 3 says that "Lambda" is very small because it would stop galaxies from forming.

5. "Big Q" is a very small number which determines the "fabric of our universe". It is the seed imprint for all cosmic structures? Maybe I've got that right.

6. "Big D" equals 3 because it represents the spatial dimensions of our world. I don't know about this number. The writer says that Time equals a 4th dimension. Superstrings' vibrate and harmonize in a 10 dimensions. And near black holes times stands still and space is warped.